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Episode 1218: Commission and Omission
Date May 18, 2018 Summary Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the dominant Justin Verlander and the Astros’ historic pitching pace, the still-struggling Dodgers, and the prospects of Blue Jays prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr., then talk to author Rob Neyer (16:28) about becoming the commissioner of the West Coast League, the future of baseball in Portland, and writing his forthcoming book, Power Ball. Later, they bring on ESPN MLB senior editor Christina Kahrl (32:03) to discuss when an MLB team will hire the league’s first female GM, the progress the game has and hasn’t made in embracing gender diversity, and her own experience being accepted by the baseball community. Topics * Interview with Rob Neyer * Role of the West Coast League Commissioner * Introduction of technology * MLB expansion to Portland * Rob's new book Power Ball * Interview with Christina Kahrl * Progress for gender diversity in baseball * Kim Ng * Christina's career path and aspirations * Developing female GM candidates * Scouting vs. analytics backgrounds * Christina's experience as a trans person in baseball * Lessons from other professional leagues Intro The Mountain Goats, "The Legend of Chavo Guerrero" Interstitials The Rolling Stones, "The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man" Electric Light Orchestra, "Wild West Hero" Outro Mac DeMarco, "For the First Time" Banter * Justin Verlander's strong start and cumulative Astros pitcher WAR * Reasons for the Los Angeles Dodgers' struggles * Port Angeles Lefties and Victoria HarbourCats * Should Vladimir Guerrero Jr. be called up? Notes * Justin Verlander has never had an ERA as low as his current 15 start stretch. * The Dodgers, Marlins, and Padres all have the same record. * Vladimir Guerrero is hitting .415/.459/.696 in AA. * Rob compares the West Coast League to the Cape Cod League of the pacific northwest. Play runs from May through August. * Rob says his new book is similar to Nine Innings by Daniel Okrent. He notes that Ben and Jeff have to have him back on Effectively Wild when it is published since they are both quoted in the book. * Christina, on being introduced to baseball sabermetrics, "I was discovering the internet, not in the Al Gore sense". * Christina felt very supported by the BBWAA and other writers during her transition. * Episode 1217 follow-up: Several listeners wrote in with suggestions about why strikes may sound different than balls. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 1218: Commission and Omission * All Teams Must Die: Six Factors That Could Stop the Seemingly Unstoppable Los Angeles Dodgers by Ben Lindbergh * Port Angeles Lefties named newest West Coast League baseball team by Rob Ollikainen * Team can be faster with promoting their prospects by Henry Druschel * West Coast League official website * Power Ball: Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game by Rob Neyer * Where will MLB's first woman GM come from? by Christina Kahrl * The Sabermetric Movement's Forgotten Foremother by Ben Lindbergh Category:Episodes Category:Guest Episodes